Abstract:Objective: To estimate the prevalence and incidence of chronic fatigue syndrome in Olmsted County, Minnesota, using the 1994 case definition and describe exclusionary and comorbid conditions observed in patients who presented for evaluation of long-standing fatigue.

Patients and Methods: We conducted a retrospective medical record review of potential cases of chronic fatigue syndrome identified from January 1, 1998, through December 31, 2002, using the Rochester Epidemiology Project, a population-based database.

Patients were classified as having chronic fatigue syndrome if the medical record review documented fatigue of 6 months' duration, at least 4 of 8 chronic fatigue syndrome-defining symptoms, and symptoms that interfered with daily work or activities.

Patients not meeting all of the criteria were classified as having insufficient/idiopathic fatigue.

The potential cases included 482 patients (70%) who had an exclusionary condition, and almost half the patients who met either criterion had at least one nonexclusionary comorbid condition.

Conclusion:
The incidence and prevalence of chronic fatigue syndrome and insufficient/idiopathic fatigue are relatively low in Olmsted County. [Note: The population of Olmsted County, a sparsely populated largely agricultural county, was 124,277 in 2000, so at 71.34 CFS cases per 100,000 the county total would have been roughly 88 cases using the Fukuda 1994 case definition.]